June 11, 2007

MOK-KOS

I've been a fan of the Xenosaga series from the moment it was announced. Early rumors reported it as a spiritual sequel to Xenogears (one of my favorite games of all time). In some ways it turned out to be that sequel, but in the many ways necessary to make a financially successful game, it failed miserably.

In a severe over-reaction to complaints that the Episode 1 characters looked too "cartoony" by people (re: morons) in the US, the developers revamped the character designs to make them more realistic. One casualty of this change was the bonus figure included with the special edition release of Episode 2. Somebody didn't have their head screwed on straight when they approved the mold. The Japanese took to calling it " jashin MOK-KOS" for its almost demonic and ugly appearance.

The first I'd ever heard of MOK-KOS was seeing this Flash file linked from the now-defunct zenosaga.com forums. Every once in a while, MOK-KOS will make a cameo appearance in some little thing coming out of Japan. That Lucky Star crossover yesterday reminded me I still had this file. I always get a chuckle when I see it.